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Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif
Atlanta and Dallas legend Jason Terry notably had the opportunity to play alongside the great Dirk Nowitzki. But the shooting guard had already been a teammate of another European before that… and he even compared the latter to Michael Jordan.
Mavericks fans will still fondly remember his contribution. A luxury backup in Texas in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Jason Terry was a key player in the 2011 Finals’ victory over Miami. If Dirk Nowitzki was the leader of the starting five, the scoring guard was the one on the bench.
But it’s important to remember that Dallas wasn’t the first franchise for the 2009 Sixth Man of the Year, far from it. Before that, “Jet” became a Hawks legend between 1999 and 2004, averaging nearly 20 points in his sophomore season. It was in Georgia that he became a teammate of a certain Toni Kukoc.
Jason Terry impressed by Toni Kukoc’s playing style
A three-time NBA champion with Michael Jordan’s Bulls, the Croatian joined Atlanta in 2001 at the age of 32. And while he ultimately only stayed a year and a half, it didn’t take him much longer to make an impression on his teammates. Interviewed by ESPN a few months after his arrival, Terry was full of praise for the European center:
Toni is drawing so much attention. I draw attention when I penetrate but not nearly as much as Toni because he’s so long and he can make that layup and finish over taller guys. Toni attracts attention the way Allen Iverson or some of the other top guys do, but the thing with him is there is no b.s. in his game. Maybe it’s from playing with Michael Jordan, but Toni is a very straightforward player.
When he gets it he’s going to either shoot it or put it on the floor and create for somebody else. Mike did that and Toni plays the same style.
A huge compliment for someone who is considered one of the best basketball players to ever come out of Europe. Hawks coach at the time, Lon Kruger, praised him just as much for the role Kukoc played on the court:
Toni is just what we need. He’s a guy we can run our offense through. He takes the pressure off Jason and our other young guys. Our offense is much better with Toni on the floor, much more fluid. We can finally look to expand from a very basic system now that he’s with us.
